Folding or collapsible top for automobiles.



H; M. HOELSGHER. FOLDING OR GOLLAPSIBLE TOP FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 5, 1908.

UNITE;

HERMAN M. HOELSGHER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FOLDING R coLLArsmLE TOP FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Ifo. scans.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented June 29, 190% Application filed liTovember 5,1908. Serial No.461,134.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN M. HennsoHnR, a citizen of the United States,resid ing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful-1m rovement in Folding or Collapsible Tops orAutomobiles, of which the following is a specification. My 'lIlVGIltlOIlrelates to folding or colla sible tops for automobiles.

Ieretofore in automobiles having bodies furnished with folding orcollapsible tops, the openings above the side doors and between theupright collapsible frame members or rods have usually been closed byrethe to b buttons or other suitable fastene'rs'. uc curtains, whenremoved, do not interfere with the collapsing of. the top, but they areinconvenient and difiicult to remove and apply and require considerabletime, and their removal or application can ordinarily onl be matle fromthe outside or by the chau eur, although it is frequently very necessaryor desirable, especially in cases of emergency, that the occupants ofthe vehicle should be able themselves to quickly remove such curtainsand get out.

The object of my invention is to provide a collapsible or foldingtopautomobile body of an improved construction, wherein the side curtainsover the doors will'not interfere with the collapsing or folding of thetop, may always be in position ready for use, may be readily opened andclosed either by the occupants of the vehicle from the inside or by thechauffeur from the outside, and this Very readily and quickly, and whichwill also be of a simple, efficient, neat and durable con- 40 struction.

My invention consists in the means I employ to practically accomplishthis object or result. That is to say, it consists in connec tion withan automobile-body having folding or collapsible top and the customaryside doors and openings above the doors between the upright framemembers or rods ofthe top, of removable curtain rods detachably securedwithin the collapsible or folding top, and preferably to the uprightframe members or rods thereof, so that whcn'the curtain rods areremoved,'the top may properly fold or c'ollapse, and sliding curtainsmounted on such rods so that they may be drawn together against theupright frame members movable curtains secured on. the outside of of thecollapsible top and thus clear the spaces above the side doors.

It further consists, in connection with these parts, of cords andpulleys for operating the sliding curtains by the chauffeur 6' from theoutside.

' It further consists in the novel construction of parts and ""devicesand in the novel combinations of parts and devices herein shown anddescribed and more particularly specified in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure1 is a perspective view of a folding or collapsible top automobileembodying my invention, show- To ing one of the sliding curtainsextended or closed, and the other contracted or opencdl Fig. 2 is adetail sectional elevation. Fig. 3 is a detail horizontal section online 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail cross section on; 15 line 44 ofFig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the removable curtain rodIn the drawing, A represents an automobile of any suitable kind orconstruction having a body B with customary side doors 0 and folding orcollapsible top D, having a cover (2 of leather or other flexiblematerial and folding frame members or rods (1 d and with side openings Dbetween the upright folding frame members or rods (2 (P.

The side 0 )enings D above the side doors C are closed. y slidingcurtains E of leather or other flexible material, supported uponremovable curtain rods F by suitable rin s or hangersf, passing througheyelets E in the curtains E. The removable curtain rods F may bedetachably secured to the folding or collapsible top of the automobilebody by any-suitable means I, however, prefer to employ for this purposescrew studs f and screw thimbles f the screw studs ,1 having base platesf secured to the upright .frame members or rods d of the folding orcollapsible top by screws so that the curtain rods F may beeasily anduicklyremoved so as to enab e the collapsible top D to be contracted orfolded when it is desired to use the vehicle as an open one. Theremovable curtain rods F extend between and are removably mounted uponthe front and rear uprights d d of the collapsible top and are directlyover the side doors 0 which are between the front and rear seats of theautomobile body; and the sliding curtains E may be opened or collapsedeither by the mobile body. When the curtains E are occupants of the rearseat or by the chauffeur or occupants of the front seat as occasionoremergency may require. The flexible sliding curtains E when extended orclosed are securely held in this position by elastic holders Ghavinglhooks g engaging rings or eyelets E in t e curtain and fastenersg secured to the collapsible top D or body B of the automobile. The sidemembers (1 of the collapsible top D have forwardly pro jectingextensions (1 over which the rear edges E of the curtains E overlap soas to produce a tight closure against wind-or rain.

To hold the lower edges of the curtains E in their extended or closedposition, the same are furnished with large hooks G which engage theside portion 6 of the autocontracted or 0 en, they are held in thisposition by flexible straps GF. To enable the sliding. and contractiblecurtains E to be readily o ened or closed from the outside or by thechauffeur, I provide the same with cords H e ending over pulleys it,said cords extending infio easy reach from the chauffeurs seat over uleys h 70 one near the front edge of the si e ddor' opening and the othernear the rear edge thereof. The cords H H are both attached t the rearedge of. the curtain. The chau ur by pulling on the cord H collapses thecurtain by pulling its rear eclllgle directly forward. v The occupant byp ing on the cord H which extends first around the front pulley h andthen over the rear pulley 7L1 also collapses the curtain by pulling "tsrear edge forward. Further cords H tend to the occupants seat.

My invention may be applied to automol bile bodies with collapsible topswhether the whole top thereof be made colla sible on only a ortionthereof collapsible, and

Whether t e top is made collapsible by folding it or by otherwisecollapsing or contracti mg 1t. For convenience, have illustrated 1 myinvention as applied to an automobile body, the whole top of which iscollapsible by a folding movement.

I claiinz- 1. In an automobile the combination of a body, a collapsibletop extendin said body and having front a'n rear uprights connecting itwith the body, the said uprights being colla sible with the top, thebody being provide with a side door opening between the said uprightsand extending to the bottom of the body, a hinged door fitting the said0 ening, a detachable rod extending over t e said hinged door andcarried by the said uprights, and a flexible curtain sliding on the saidrod, closing the space between the said uprights and lapping past thetop edge of the door, whereby by the sliding of the curtain and theswinging of the door a free exit space may be pro-. vided extending tothe bottom of the body.

2. In an automobile, the combination of abody having front and rearseats, a collapsible top extending overthe said front and rear seats andhaving front and rear uprights connecting it with the body, the bodybeing provided with a side door opening between the said seats, a hingeddoor fitting said opening, a detachable rod extending over the saidhinged door and carried by the said uprights, a flexible curtain slidingon the said rod, closing the space between the front and rear seats andlapping past the top edge of the door and the pull cord extending fromthe sliding curtain to the said front seat, whereby by the sliding ofthe cur-. l tain and the swinging of the door a free exit and entrancespace may be provided extending to the bottom of the body.

HERMA M. HOELSCHER.

